Description
Book SynopsisThe Great Fire of 1835 nearly leveled Manhattan-consuming some 700 buildings-yet also created the ashes from which the city was reborn. Manhattan Phoenix explores the emergence of modern New York after 1835 and in the years up to and through the Civil War, as it evolved from a chaotic jumble of competing interests and rampant disorganization into to a metropolis of world-class proportions.
Trade ReviewA superb work of urban history that crackles with the heat and smoke of Manhattan's devastating fires and probes the genius, vision—sometimes villainy—of the men who shaped its destiny during these crucial years. Daniel Levy's infectious love for his native city infuses every line. * Tom Sancton, author of The Bettencourt Affair and The Lost Baron *
A captivating history that shows how modern New York City emerged from an early-nineteenth-century whirlwind of fire and disease, riot and racism, construction and demolition, and general mayhem. * Fran Leadon, author of Broadway: A History of New York City in Thirteen Miles *
Nineteenth-century New York both embodied America and transcended it. Manhattan Phoenix is a vivid account of the city in the years leading through the Civil War, and Daniel Levy has seamlessly woven a history that reveals how it became a major world center while combating plagues, fires and election fraud. Manhattan Phoenix shows why New York is unique and how it became so. * Richard Stengel, author of Information Wars and Mandela's Way *
This is a well-researched account. * Choice *
Table of ContentsI. Prologue II. Fire III. Ash IV. Land V. Trade VI. Marble VII. Water VIII. Grime IX. Firemen X. People XI. Retreat XII. Rebirth
